The Southern Stars entered the series as the No.1 side in all formats of the game and were expected to give Australian cricket fans some joy after the men’s team lost its Ashes series 0-3. But England rallied on their home turf to regain the Ashes - ten points to four - with one match still to be played.

Australia had needed to win at Southampton early this morning and the final Twenty20 at Durham to draw the series and retain the Ashes.

England secured the series with a five wicket win in the second Twenty20 match at the Rose Bowl after it recovered from being 3-9 in the third over.

"I’m pretty gutted to be honest,’’ Fields said. "To sit here and to have lost the Ashes. Particularly after the men lost, we saw it as our responsibility to work hard to bring it home and now both Australian teams have gone home without the Ashes.

"I suppose all we can do it go away and have a good hard look at ourselves as a team and what we can improve on. I’m sure that you’ll see a fighting team in the January series.’’

England lost the Twenty20 World Cup final to Australia by just four runs last year.

England captain Charlotte Edwards conceded she was shocked at her team’s dominant performance, after it dropped the opening one-day match at Lord’s by 27-runs.

They haven’t lost since, winning four of a possible six matches of the series, with the sole Test ending in a draw, to hold the Ashes for the first time since 2009.

"It’s possibly one of my proudest moments in cricket,’’ Edwards said. "To beat the world champions on home soil as convincing as we have done is really pleasing for us as a group of players.

"After the Lord’s game a week ago we would have bitten anyone’s hand off to win the Ashes at the Rose Bowl.

"But we’ve always know, Australia’s a good team, but the games have been so close in the past what we kept talking about to the players was momentum can change pretty quickly and it did at Hove and we’ve just gone with it and we’ve played some outstanding cricket. We always believed we could beat this Australian team.’’

England passed Australia’s 7-127 with an over to spare at the Rose Bowl, ending the match at 5-128.

The win was thanks to Lydia Greenway, who came to the crease in the third over with England in trouble , making 80 not out off 64 balls, including 11 fours – the highest score by an English woman in a T20 international.

Greenway, who escaped a tough stumping chance on 10 and then a top edge narrowly avoided the outstretched glove of running keeper Jodie Fields on 55, played a brilliant innings which included several clever reverse sweeps.

England was in trouble early, losing three wickets in eight balls, with Sarah Coyte (2-29) and Julie Hunter (1-23) doing the damage before the end of the third over.

Julie Hunter started the wicket run bowling Heather Knight (2).

A brilliant one handed caught and bowled by Coyte then had in form batter Sarah Taylor (1) back in the sheds before Coyte bowled Danni Wyatt (0) two balls later.

Victorian Meg Lanning had earlier made a brilliant 60 before she was unlucky to be run out. She was backing up when Alex Blackwell drove the ball hard down the pitch and bowler Holly Colvin touched the ball with the tip of her finger before it cannoned into the stumps.

Lanning’s innings, from 53 balls, included six fours and a six hit to bring up her half century over deep square leg.

Alex Blackwell (25 off 26 balls) and Lanning had a 57-run partnership.

Australia’s indecisive running between wickets again proved costly, with star bat Jess Cameron run out on seven.

She was backing up before she was sent back by Lanning with Jenny Gunn fielding her own bowling to throw the stumps down with a direct hit.

Australia had earlier made a bold selection move for the must-win clash, with teen pace bowler Holly Ferling making her short-form debut.

Ferling finished with 1-23 off her four voers.

Strike bowler Ellyse Perry was again without a wicket, with 0-21 off three overs.

Ferling made her Test debut in the sole Ashes Test and played two one-day games this series before she was dropped.

She was recalled to the side at the expense of spinner Jess Jonassen, with the Southampton pitch appearing like it could favour pace and bounce.

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